Sarah is a Quilt Designer

 

Thank you for coming to visit our store blog today.  To read more about Sarah's personal life you can visit her blog at www.sarahely8989.blogspot.com

buckeye love...

our sarah sure does love babies.  and when they are little buckeye fans...

 

well, they just warm her heart.  and that melts mine.

 

there sure is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby in your arms.  thank you mason and your momma and grandma for sharing. you sure made our sarah a happy gal. 

our new guard...

so after our little mysterious shopper incident last week, a friend suggested we need a little more protection, like in the form of a pet.  i know some shops have guard dogs but we strive to be a bit different. so...

be sure to say hello on your next visit!

olive grace studios

it was suppose to be a beautiful, yet cold sunday. a perfect day for a little road trip.  so sarah and i got up early and headed for fowler township in cortland, ohio.

 

with the exception of a very brief period when i lived in grand rapids, michigan, i've called ohio my home.  over the years, i've traveled throughout the state for both work and pleasure.  yet somehow i've missed this corner of the buckeye state. 

 

 

as we turned off of state route 305 onto route 193, also known as youngstown-kingsville road, we were greeted by a charming gazebo complete with a general store and a saloon now turned salon. it felt reminiscent of yesteryear for sure. driving just a short distance down the road, we spotted our destination...

 

olive grace studios.  one does not need to even step foot inside to recognize that it is going to be an unforgettable experience. 

 

once we pushed open the side door, our expectations were not disappointed. in fact, there really are no words to describe that first wave of delight.

 

everywhere you look there are adorable attractions to catch your eye. such as this delightful bunting created with the new 2 1/2" candy precuts by moda.

 

 

the display pieces are also worthy of inspection.  this antique cupboard is just perfect for the eclectic collection of trims and ribbons.     

 

the owner, kori turner, also has her own line of patterns available.

 

by square footage standards, this shop is not large. yet the details of each display are so extraordinaire, you leave feeling extremely satisfied. i do believe i circled the original hard wood floors at least a dozen times before taking my selection to the cutting counter.  

 

 

all the while, sarah was as content as can be sitting with her new friend. while we were there i forgot to mention to sarah there is another reason to love kori, she and her new hubby josh are the ultimate buckeye fans.  but don't just take my word for it...click on over to their exquisite scarlet and gray wedding photos taken by Genevieve Nisly.

 

to read more of our delightful sunday excursion click on over to sarah's blog.

what would you do...

have you ever watched the television show "what would you do" hosted by john quinones? they create real life situations utilizing actors and then film real life people in the scenario they created to see how people react. 

i felt like i could have recently been a part of that show...and i am still stumped by it...so maybe if i put it out here the real life people will come forward and let me know who they were. no hard feelings...i'd just like to know.

last thursday i arrived at the store at 10:00. there was a car in the parking lot. it had no occupants and there was no one in the lobby waiting for me, so i assumed my husband had a client visiting his business upstairs.  i sat in my car for a few minutes to write some notes in a folder related to a project i am working on. if any customers came, i would be able to see them pull in and i would then of course unlock the door.

after finishing my notes, i proceeded to the front door. it was now about 10:15. i put the key in and turned the lock like i always do.  i walked in and turned on the first group of lights. then proceeded to walk to the next room. out of the one side room a woman appears. i let out a slight gasp. i walked a bit farther toward the cutting counter and two more women appeared walking from the farthest back corner.

i was startled. i wanted to say something, but nothing would come out of my mouth.  i wanted to move, but my feet would not budge. finally my brain slightly engaged and i asked if they thought the store was open. one of the women responded that they thought i was at the loading dock unpacking fabric.

the loading dock?  this is clearly a former bungalow type house turned commercial. there is no loading dock here. now i was frightened. my heart started pounding. fast. i felt sweat beading up on my forehead. i wasn't sure what they were going to do next. i started frantically turning all the lights on. i quickly opened the side doors in case i needed to make a quick exit.

then i started mumbling. i just kept saying i must have left the front door unlocked the night before. i tried to focus on their faces. i definitely had never seen them before. then one asked me about a pattern. i tried listening to what she was saying but was not hearing so well. so i just started mumbling again. i could not think coherently. then they just took to the front door and left.

the next customer in asked me what was wrong with the ladies who just left because they nearly knocked over her granddaughter. i am stumped. i just don't know what to believe.

if you entered a small boutique type of store and clearly all the lights were off and there was no sign of life yet in the shop, what would you do?

i would like to think they were quilters, visiting for the first time. but i would have thought they might have offered an apology for scaring the living daylights out of me, been a little nicer leaving and maybe even stuck around to buy something.

one thing that has come out of this...adt...the alarm people now have a presence.  and soon you will see some cameras mounted. darn it. i hate this feeling of insecurity. but better safe than sorry i suppose.

i am most thankful for this...sarah was not with me. i don't know if she would have been frightened by the situation, but she definately would have felt my panic and likely responded accordingly. and that would have been greatly confusing to her.

customer relations

if you were in the store this morning while the lights were still out, will you please call me at 440-684-9830 or email me at jhillely@gmail.com. i would like to personally offer my apology.  thank you!!

noteworthy by sweetwater...

we are so proud to be able to feature our very own katrina in the front window this month...

 

noteworthy by sweetwater for moda is the perfect collection for spring.  the colors are refreshingly sweet. exactly like katrina! 

 

when we were at quilt market last fall, katrina fell in love with the patterns by cluck, cluck, sew.  she utilized "scout" for this quilt.

 

as we traveled to market together, i filled my time on the plane by piecing one inch hexagons. at first, katrina was not so sure about the hand stitching involved. until a few weeks ago that is, when she found herself traveling to salt lake city for a convention with bone marrow transplant docs and nurses. just in case you don't know, this amazing young woman is a nurse coordinator at the seidman cancer center at university hospital during the week.  during her time away she created this very clever pattern with her hexies.  it's the perfect size for a european pillow sham insert. and with that, i think she is hooked on paper piecing!

 

you can find katrina in the shop every saturday. her creations will be on display through the end of march.  and on this sweet sunday, i would sincerely like to thank katrina for all she does for our little shop. she was indeed sent to us by the creator of our master plan and we are most grateful. 

a thought for thursday

 

window dressing

we get so many compliments in the community on our front window. i don't think there has ever been one i did not like, yet there was just something about this february ensemble that was especially endearing. before we change it, i want to send out a public thank you to a few creative souls, because without them we would not be able to dress our window like this...

 

from left to right:



scene one
hanging quilt: peanutbutter quilts
pillow and bunting: debbie of happy little cottage
table runner:  crystal of frivolous necessity

scene two
hanging quilt: jude spero of little louise quilts
top table quilt: michelle of L7quilts
table quilt: kerry of modern material girl
dress: alissa of pit, pat, waddle pat

scene three
hanging quilt: crystal of frivolous necessity
table quilt: stacey of the tilted quilt
pillow: warmnfuzzies

much appreciation to you all. thank you for sharing your talents with us!

heartfelt words by marie...

Almost four years ago to the day, I walked out of United Way and my not-for-profit career for the last time. I thought I was coming home to create peace for my precious Sarah who the doctors thought might be entering the last phase of her life and suggested we bring in hospice services.

Little did I know that an entirely new path had been laid out for us. Several months later we opened the doors of a tiny little boutique quilt shop which has been given a mission with arms that are far reaching beyond just fabric. Yesterday we opened the cover of a book by New York Times best selling author Marie Bostwick to find this heart warming sentiment...

I absolutely could never have predicted the turns our life would take or the fact that when we walked out of that hospital room in February 2009, we would not return, as Sarah's health has never been more perfect. 

Thank you to all who are supporting our efforts.  Without our wonderful customers, our story would not be what it is today.

And to Marie, thank you for including us in your journey.  Your friendship means the world to us.